Spring-rim for wheels.



W; A. LANGJAHR. SPRING am r012 WHEELS.

APPLIOATIOH FILED JAN. 2, 1913.

Patented Jun 3, 1913.

provide a simple economical and eifectlvc To all whom it may concern r errant WILLIAM a. raneaann, or rtylvrournr, wIscoNsIn'.

SPRING-RIM FOR WHEELS.

Be it known that I,W1LLIAiw A. LANG- JAHR, a citizen of the United States, and

resident of P1 mouth, in the county of Sheboygan and tate of Wisconsin, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Spring-Rims for- Wheels; and I do hereby declare that the following 'is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The primary object of my invention Is to sprmg rim for vehicle wheels.

Other objects areto provide a pair of C11- cular rub-plates between the wheel-felly and a floating rim, whereby rigidity is obtained, the said plates being provided with means for effecting a practically dfl1Sl3 -t1ght omt therebetween; to provide a spring COIIIIeC-: tion between the floating rim and wheel felly in the form of a series of coiled spring units that connect the rim and wheel in the form-of a continuous zig-zag; to provide a coupling block for the ends of the spring units that also serves as a buffer for the last coils of the spring ends, the blocks being arranged to abut said spring ends under abnormal load strain at the traction point of the tread, the abutment being coincident to the closing up 'of the coiled springs, whereby said spring units constitute rigid oblique buffer connections, and thus prevent the floating rim from assuming abnormal eccentricity relative to the wheel proper.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in certain peculiari ties of construction and combination of parts as hereinafter set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a fragment of a wheel embodying the features of my invention with parts broken away and parts in section to illustrate structural features thereof; Fig.

, 2, a detailed cross-section. the section being indicated by line 22 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3, a plan view of a tie-block for the spring units, the tie-block being shown with the ends of a pair of said spring units seated' Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 2, 1913. Serial No. 739,610.

Patented June 3, 191 3.

tion of a yieldable tread 4t, the'central portion of the rim being provided with a suitable filler 3. Secured to a stepped porti 1Y1 of the floating rim are rub-plates 5, 5, that straddle corresponding rub-plates 6, 6, which are secured to the wheel-felly, the latter being provided with facings 6 of leather or other suitable material which is adapted to contact with the inner faces of the rubplates 5 whereby a tight joint is formed between the floating rim rub-plates and felly plates to prevent dust from entering into the spring cavity between these members. The wheel felly and floating rim are each vprovided with a series of blocks 7, 7, re

spectively, which are arranged alternately as shown. At the ends of each block there is formed a centrally apertured circular groove 8, which groove is intersected by a straight groove or gutter 8 leading therefrom to the end of the block. As best shown in Fig. 1 each floating-rim block is secured to said rim by a pair of bolts 9, 9, which pass through the filler 3 of the rim and also through eyes 10 that are formed in the ends of coiled spring sections 11, 11, straight stretches of the coiled springs being seated within the groove 8' of the block, it being understood that the spring loops are interposed between the block and rim. The connection between the coiled spring sections 11 and the block 7 of the wheel felly is similar in construction in every respect to that just described in connection with the floating rim. I

As shown in Fig. 3, the ends of the blocks are each formed with a straight face, which face is adapted to engage the end coils 11 of the connected spring sections, whereby the blocks engaging said coils form bufiers that are adapted to receive the impact of load strain at the traction point of the wheel incidental to the intermediate coils of the spring sections being closed and thus it will be observed that when the coils of said springs are closed by this impact that they, in coniunction with the ends of the blocks. form oblique buffers to resist strain. This closing up of the coiled sections at the traction point will thereby prevent the floating rim from assuming an abnormal eccentric position relative to the wheel proper and will also serve to prevent straining or dis tent-ion of those spring sections which are arranged diametrically opposite the traction point.

From the foregoing description it is aparent that by the arrangement and assem- Elage of spring sections that a rigid and resilient wheel will result, having the vdesired qualities of the pneumatic tire, while (at the same time the said wheel is rendered the said seats being intersected by end grooves, coiled'springs having looped ends and straight stretches respectively seated within the circular ooves and the intersectin end grooves, olts for securing certain o the spring-loops, blocks and floating rim together, and bolts for securing otherof the spring loops, blocks and Wheel felly Y together.

In testimony that I claim the foregoin I have hereunto set my hand at Plymouth in I Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents. I

Washington, D. 0. V 

